So, you thought that it was only you who could stock different clothing items in your wardrobe? Well, not really! Your pet too has numerous options to choose from in dog clothing. From trendy jackets to stylish sweat suits, your pet has plenty of options to select from.
Amidst assorted other items for dog clothing, dog jackets are the hottest. Regardless of the style you want, you are certain to find one for your pet. Faux fur, hoodies, turtle necks, thermal hoods, padded jackets…you name it and you are sure to have it.
The range has become actually wide in a short while period. So much so you can get dog jackets in practically any style and for every occasion. When you take your dog for a walk, make it wear a sporty striped jacket. For folks who also double their pet as accessory dog, smart silk and corduroy jackets are the best option.
It’s a known fact that dressing female dogs is comparatively easier as you have numerous options to choose from. You have a range of fantastic and cute clothing’s that you can dress your dog in. They form the ideal clothing line for your female dog. However, If you want a casual look for your dog then floral printed dresses are the ideal pick. You can also settle in for the ones which have minimal fur and laces. Some other trendy options for you are tank tops, spaghetti style, halter neck and two others.
For the male dogs, the fundamentals of style and fashion are served by smart looking dog shirts. Just like you can get stripes, checks, prints and other patterns to make shirt for human males, the same options can also be found in shirt options for male dogs. Again, the shirts are primarily formal wear. Specifically made polo necks or round necks are available for causal wear.
Sweat suits are also a must in your dog’s wardrobe. They not just make your dog look all sporty and modern but also offer great use. You’ll have your pet wear these at home or when you are taking him to the nearby park or going to the nearby store. When choosing a sweat suit, go in for the ones that offers protection from heat as well as rain.
There are countless color options in sweat suits.But, make sure that you go in for the one that suits the colour of your dog. If you’ve got a brown dog, you can go in for soft colours like pale pink or emerald green. Sweat suits in pastel shades are a good choice if you’ve got a white dog.
Stock these clothing items in your dog’s wardrobe and he’s bound to be the cynosure of all eyes whenever you take him out. Go on and make your dog the most fashionable pet ever.
Filed under Animal Info by on Mar 18th, 2010. Comment. 
As mans best friend, we want our dearly loved hound to be well behaved in the varied social situations he finds itself. This schooling needs to start while the fido is young. We want the hound not to be frightened or aggressive towards persons or other animals. Pooch socialisation is a key part of dog training.
Research at Veterinary Medicine College at Cornell showed that the first 12 weeks are critical, and the easiest for socialisation. For many puppies this time is dealt with by the breeder. After that initial twelve weeks it is still important, but takes more time and effort and planning. This is also the experience of professional London dog sitters who are often asked for help.
Dogs are so similar to us humans, if the first time is hurtful, we will avoid it or be worried at similar occasions, so take things slowly and small. Do not compel the puppy. If in doubt, stop and do it again later. Yound pups rapidly tire and need to rest often, so do new things for short periods and give plenty of rest in between.
So what approach should I take?
• Invite friends and family, small, grand, different looking, different sexes. Be prudent and vigilant with experiences with other children.
• Introduce him to a collar and then a leash. For short periods just leave the collar on him, later attach the leash and let him walk around with it, then you can take him for a walk around the house. Carefully choose a lightweight buckle collar with a puppy.
• Visit your families and friend and families in their houses.
• Try and meet diverse puppies, particularly other sociable, vigorous and vaccinated dogs. Be prudent until the puppy is fully vaccinated, meeting bitches of unknown history.
• If you know people with hound friendly cats, see if you can visit?
• Meet other animals, do you have a friendly farm near you? Difficult in towns, but look for opportunities.
• Life in a car is part of life. So take puppy out for as many convenient short rides in the car. Stop and let him watch the world pass by, in the security of the car. This will introduce him to noisy. Introduce him to other loud noises such as drills.
• Take or walk him to spots where there is local commotion such as the mall and parks. Find a restaurant or coffee house where you can sit outside with your dog and watch the world go by. Loads of people will introduce themselves to him.
• Introduce your pooch to activities in the home, paying attention to safety, vacuuming, cooking and gardening.
• Puppy grooming, a great time for you and him, start a routine as soon as possible of brushing, bathing and inspection.
• Careful with training the pup on stairs, if you are a typical town apartment owner, this may be problematic.
Dog socialisation, do not procrastinate and do something today and have a superb sociable pooch.
Filed under Animal Info by on Dec 28th, 2009. Comment.
Dog grooming is a critical part of dog care. Dog grooming involves a number of diverse tasks. Regular combing and brushing to eliminate dead hair, skin and general rubbish. Bathing and nail trimming, as well as maintaining your dog’s ears, eyes and mouth.
For good dog health you should groom regularly, in addition it gives quality bonding time with your dog. Your dog will see it as another form of petting. Dog grooming must be started early in the dogs life, build a daily routine, do at the same time, place and how. When starting dog grooming, be soft, but firm, that way he will not be anxious, but knows where he stands.
The brushing and combing will care for your dog’s coat, taking out all sorts of potential skin irritant and pests, giving a shinier and healthier coat. The specific type of grooming required depends on the dog breed, the below is generic and ideal for most dogs, but either verify with the dog breeder, or research it on the net, or your dog sitter should be able to help.
Bathing
Bathing is a significant task in dog grooming. There is no consensus on how often a given dog or breed must be bathed. The different aspects turn around mother natures self grooming maintains natural body oils. However bathing, even with specific dog shampoos will bathe the natural essential oils away. So many people wait until the dog is dirty before washing. There may be a man / woman thing, with women generally preferring to wash regularly and more often. Generally a bath about every couple of months or so should be expected.
It is easier to introduce a dog to bathing at an early age, so they are at ease, and even enjoy it. So prior to a planned bathing of the dog it is best to brush the dog well.
For a stress free bath, plan the dog bath well, collect and place everything ready and at hand prior to getting the pooch. This is especially stressful for those in large towns, with insufficient space and without the delights of shower rooms and utility rooms by the back door. For us city dwellers, we often have to take the dog up to the bathroom.
Keeping a secure footing is important, so place the rubber mat in your shower. To evade ear problems, shield the ears by using cotton wool in the dog’s ears to stop water ingress into the ears. Some breeds with large ears such as Labradors can be especially susceptible to ear infections.
To avoid shocking your pooch use warmish water to bath your dog. It is easier to use a shower or spray hose. Keep the nozzle head close to the animal and do not spray onto the dog’s face, as this could scare him.
Choosing the right dog shampoo is important, do not use human shampoos. Only use a little and start from the head and top and wash downward and in the direction of the tail. Obviously avoid and be careful around the eyes. Crucial areas to spend time on washing well are around the chin, especially if he is messy with food, behind the ears, around the toes and the rectum.
Finish by rinsing with warm water, ensuring all the shampoo is washed out.
The dog will remove a lot of the water by shaking, so watch out!, then you can towel him down. You may like to use a hair dryer, mainly women again! This is not normally needed unless you are needing to take him out. It is better to finish drying off naturally inside.
The other parts of dog grooming and dog care will be dealt with later, including coat care, nail trimming, ear and teeth care
Filed under Animal Info by on Dec 21st, 2009. Comment.
The German Shepherd Dog also known as an Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. The Alsatian is a relatively new breed of large-sized dog originating in the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.
Often employed by the military and police for their obedience and intelligence. The Alsatian is nearly always one of the top 5 global breeds.
The breed originates from a dog named Hektor Linksrhein. He so impressed Von Stephanitz that he purchased it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded German Shepherd Dog Society.
Horand von Grafrath became the centre-point of the society’s breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has increased rapidly throughout the 20th Century, though taking dives in popularity in the early days due to genetic health issues from poor inbreeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. To such an extent that the UK Kennel Club renamed it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, eventually the wolf dog appendage was dropped and in the late seventies, the German Shepherd Dog was back as the official name, though it is still often known as the Alsatian. The German Shepherd popularity was helped by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now days it is in most countries the third most popular dog breed.
They are a large dog of between 55 and 65 centimetres ( 22 and 26 in) at the withers and weigh around 30 kilograms ( sixty lb).
The German Shepherd’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, powerful jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.
German Shepherds come in many colours, the normal versions are the red/black and tan/black varieties with black masks and saddles. Less common versions include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue varieties, which may not fit country breed standards. Alsatians have a double coat. A dense close thick outer coat, which sheds all year round and a thick undercoat. There is also the rare long-hair variant.
Like many working dogs, German Shepherds were bred for their intelligence, and are considered to be the third most intelligent breed of dog (Border Collies is deemed to be number one by Stanley Coren in his book The Intelligence of Dogs). This attribute combined with the Alsatians power makes the German Shepherd desirable as police, guard, and search and rescue dogs, being able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other large breeds.
Alsatians have a reputation for aggression and have been restricted in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, the Alsatian is responsible for more random bites than any other breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller dog breeds.
Additionally studies have shown that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person and in a different study, Alsatians were responsible for almost fifty percent of the dog bites that mandated medical attention, compared to a more typical twenty of bites needing medical treatment, not surprising with their strong jaws and sharp canine teeth.
The problem is not with the dog, but the owners. As with any bright active dog (or child), if they are not regularly active and kept busy, they can become troublesome. The Alsatian must have puppy socialisation and good education from an early stage. The German Shepherd is different from the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been removed by breeding for shows, the Alsatian does not seem to have lost this character.
The Alsatian are great with the family they know, but can be over protective of their home and family – why they are a great guard dog. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.
German Shepherds learn well and are very obedient and not easily diverted, but due to their strong personality, you need to be very firm with them.
The German Shepherd will need to have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family without time for attention. For this reason, busy couples regularly ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for a few hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common genetic health problems, hip and elbow joint problems (dysplasia) which is painful for the dog and may cause arthritis. The German Shepherd also suffers from monorchidism (one testicle), weakness of temperament, and missing teeth, as well as folded or bent ears which never fully turn up when reaching adulthood. The German Shepherd is often has ear problems due to his large and open ears.
Alsatians, like many large chested dogs are prone to bloat, this is often fatal, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the veterinary. Bloat is a build up of gas in the stomach, caused by a number of different causes. The symptoms of distress for no apparent reason, a firm distension of the abdomen, general weakness, depression, problems breathing, hypersalivation, and retching without vomiting. A high rate of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias ( 40 percent in one study), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.
The German Shepherd often suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder, which shows in variable degrees of bleeding tendency, usually in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .
In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is sturdy with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a German Shepherd is seven to ten years, which is typical for a large dog breed.
The Alsatian has great olfactory sensitivity so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a many roles requiring this ability, including cadaver searching, search and rescue, explosives detection, narcotics detection and mine detection.
So the German Shepherd is a wonderful clever dog that will bond well with you, if you have the time and dedication for him. Not advised for busy working families.
Filed under Animal Info by on Nov 2nd, 2009. Comment.
There is a lot work to looking after a dog or puppy and he or she will take up a lot of time, you must be prepared to clean up dog poo every day, until your dog is house trained, or when you take him for a walk.
Training a dog can be hard, especially if you aren’t used to dog training. Simple acts can produce the best and quickest results. You have to understand how a dog would live if he were living in a dog pack. There is always a leader of the pack the alpha male, and you will have to become the alpha, so your dog will know you are in charge and will obey and follow you.
Don’t let any of this put you off, a dog is a wonderful companion and will give you lots of love, with the added bonus if needed, of protecting you. Remember they need plenty of love, attention, and petting as well, so enjoy your best friend.
The following tips will help you look after your dog properly and have a good relationship
Dogs like to dig, they like to bury bones, not good if you are a keen gardener. When they are loney dogs will dig, as they are social animals and get bored. Spending more time with him or her should help if this becomes a problem. Sometimes when they dig they eat the earth, this can be because they are lacking in vitamins. Check you pet’s health with a vet and if there is nothing wrong, buy a good dog vitamin pill, and this should help keep that digging at bay.
Potty Training
The best way to deal with doggie potty trainig, is to reward your puppy when he or she gets it right. It is important that you never rub his nose in it when he has an accident or hit him, he will know from your face and tone of your voice that he has got it wrong. Sometimes an accident might occur but remember it isn’t the end of the world, stains will wash out.
Discover the answers to your dog health and dog problems
Filed under Dogs by on May 9th, 2009. Comment.
